Crossing of Two Paths
by June Eastan
Summary: Craig felt something was missing from his life after his father's death, an emptiness never filled. When Hadley Baring enters his life, she helps him discover himself in no way possible, the artist's way, while showing her the true meaning of love.
1. Tequila Sunrise

_Crossing of Two Paths_

Craig felt something was missing from his life after his father's death, an emptiness never filled. When Hadley Baring enters his life, she helps him discover himself in no way possible, the artist's way, while showing her the true meaning of love. 

**Author's Note**:  This story deals with incest/sexual abuse of a child. While I won't be getting into detail, it will be mentioned.  I've given this story a PG-13 rating, but be aware about this, in case you're uncomfortable with the situation.  

I do not own any Degrassi character(s), but any you don't recognize are my own.  This story is taking place after the 2nd season, at the start of the new school year. 

~

            "Daddy, I don't want to!" 

            A small girl of six started whimpering in bed, clutching her raggedy doll closer to her for comfort.

            "Don't worry sweetie," her father replied, placing a hand on her arm.  "I promise it won't hurt. Not at all.  There's no need to be scared."

            The girl, light tears in her eyes, looked up at the bulky man known as her father. Her lower lip trembled as she lay down on her bed.

            "Now, what is it we tell Mommy or any adult about what were doing?" the man asked the child.

            The girl trembled again. "Nothing."

            "That's a good girl," the man said, as he unzipped his pants…

~

            "I don't ever want to speak to you again!" the girl yelled at her mother as she threw her twelve-year-old body against the worn couch.

            "Fine! Act as immature as you want! Be a so-called 'adult'. Don't come to Christmas pageant with your father and I to see your sister perform. Don't be involved in this family. See what it matters to me! But I will tell you something; your sister will be disappointed not to see you with us. What should I tell her? The truth about you hideous behavior?" 

            The girl's mother took a much-needed breath, and with that, joined her husband in their Toyota station wagon.

            "Stepfather" the girl mumbled to herself, walking over to the computer to waste the hours away.

            Taking a needed break, the girl walked to the front window to rest her eyes. She watched as the familiar Toyota station wagon came crawling up the street. She watched a speeding sports convertible drive the opposite way, a drunk obviously in the front seat. A blur of light, fire, and screams filled the night air…

~~ 

            Hadley Baring woke up with a jolt, her head throbbing from her repetitive nightmare, her breath in short gasps.  Needing some air, she went to open a window, and let her warm head rest upon the cool glass.

            Looking out into Toronto, Ontario, rosy-fingered dawn approaching over the blackened sky, Hadley closed her eyes and tried to relax. Her dreams about her dad, and the car crash…it was too much to handle.  

            Hadley looked out at the city, the tall buildings and busy streets, even in the middle of the night.  Hadley focused on one street in particular: De Grassi St. Around the corner was a school, one she would be attending in a matter of days.  A new school, a new city, in a new country, along with a new family.  Hadley was used to it.

            Walking back to her bed, avoiding her few boxes she hadn't unpacked, Hadley picked up a black book and pencil, letting her hand take over for her emotions. As she drew into morning, the page began to fill up with images, images that could no longer describe the artist behind them.  


	2. Missing Piece

Crossing of Two Paths  
  
A/N: Sorry about the last update, I had some uploading problems. Bear with me, I'm new at this!  
  
Craig positioned his camera, trying to capture the right angle. It was 6:30 AM, and sprinkles of dew were attached to a bed of clovers woven through a spider's web. It made the ideal black and white, and Craig needed it for his next assignment.   
  
"Is that you Craig?!" a high-little girl voice shrieked into the new day.   
  
Craig didn't even have to look around to know who was speaking to him. He ducked down and spun around to the large oak tree off the center of the middle square. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he tiptoed to the tree, praying something would distract her shallow mind from him for a moment. He then climbed up the knots, holding his camera tightly to his chest so it wouldn't ruin, and settled himself into his favorite branch, his body conforming into its figure.  
  
Craig brushed the branches aside and looked up to the balconies of the girls' dormitories. Sure enough, there stood Brittni on the middle one. Her too short, too tight pajamas clinging to her as she twirled her long, blonde hair around her perfectly manicured nailed finger, looking around as if expecting Craig to pop out at any moment with a free shopping trip.  
  
"Craig" she yelled again at the top of her lungs.  
  
Craig winced at the sound of her high baby voice. The girl couldn't take a hint. He'd been doing his best to avoid her all summer, but the high voice piercing his ears as she laughed at everything he said and the nails slapping into his skin whenever she glanced at a "scary" picture (which, ironically, happened to be all of them), plus the occasional butt grabbing in the dark room, had him done. Sure, she was gorgeous, but he wanted to scream bloody hell every time he had to talk to her and listen to her shallowness about her cruises and parties. And her low appreciation towards photography and its art didn't help either, considering this was a photography workshop.  
  
"Only one more week" Craig kept repeating in his mind as he brushed his long, dark curls away from his chocolate eyes, and breathing in the scents of morning. "One more week".  
  
Craig had been spending his summer at the University of Toronto, at a photography workshop. Yes, he was enjoying the atmosphere and the experience of living like a college student, plus improving on his one passion, but that wasn't the main reason he was here.  
  
His father's death had inspired him to spend some time alone to himself to sort out his thoughts and emotions about himself and his life. Everything just seemed to be going wrong, and the suggestion from Joey to spend the summer away alone at a photo workshop for some downtime seemed like the perfect idea.   
  
"Although Joey probably wouldn't have sent me here if he saw Brittni. He'd probably come in my place" Craig thought to himself.  
  
Craig leaped out of the tree and started to walk around the square, hands stuffed in his pockets, observing the little going on around him. He watched sweaty early morning joggers, and summer students getting to early classes. He stopped to watch a little boy being dragged along by his father, a tired look in his eyes. Craig watched as the father reached down to tickle the boy awake, laughter spreading throughout him as they walked off to their destination.   
  
An unarming sensation of emotions filled Craig's body at that moment. Looking down at the ground, Craig focused on walking back to his dorm, but found he couldn't as he went to hide in the same field of clovers he was in earlier. Trying to focus, he wiped away the single tear that fell down his tree, hiding into the drying dew of morning. Craig wasn't sure of the cause of his unannounced emotional outbreaks. They had been coming frequently the entire summer. Soul searching had helped him accept the fact that his dad was gone, and never coming back, that he was not the horrible person he always believed to be.   
  
Yet, something was missing in his life. Something important, something he hadn't been able to find this summer. Craig was a blank puzzle with an important missing piece, one that once he found would show him the picture he was drawing towards.   
  
Something that would change him forever. 


	3. We're Back In Kansas

Crossing of Two Paths  
  
"Welcome home Craig!" Angela Jeremiah yelled in her excited tone, holding up a poster with obvious scribbling on it. She giggled as Craig pulled her into a big bear hug, blocking Joey in the doorway.  
  
"Hey, Craig decided to pack bricks here, my arms are falling off!" Joey Jeremiah said in a sarcastic tone, huffing as he dropped Craig's luggage.  
  
"Falling off, falling off!" Angela sang as she ran around the room.  
  
"Hey Ang, why don't you go find the present you made Craig? It's probably hiding somewhere in 'la casa de Angela'" Joey mocked in a dreadful Spanish accent. Angela giggled one last time before jolting upstairs to her room.  
  
Craig smiled a sad smile as he watched the two of them. Catching Joey's eye, he quickly turned around to open the refrigerator door.  
  
Joey watched his stepson as he walked over to the kitchen foyer. Craig had been acting unusual on the way home. In fact, ever since the death of his father, Craig hadn't been the same. Understandable, of course, but nothing in the way Joey had seen earlier this summer.  
  
'Maybe he's coming to terms with the death' Joey thought as he watched Craig gulp down milk from the carton.  
  
"Hey, use a glass. You're not living alone anymore." Joey lectured.  
  
Craig wiped the milk anyway from his face, muttering something of a "Sorry" as he opened the cabinet.  
  
"So, how was the workshop? You get any good shots?" Joey asked he leaned against the wall, watching his stepson.  
  
"It was great. I learned so much; it was somewhat overwhelming. But great. All show you the pictures I got at dinner. There's this one great black and white one." Craig muttered as he went in search of cookies.  
  
Joey grabbed a beer from the 'fridge and sat down on one of the bar stools. "Yeah, University of Toronto is a beautiful campus. Not that I noticed because all the beautiful women grabbed my attention" Joey said while sipping beer, smiling a mischievous smile at Craig.  
  
Craig attempted to smile back, wincing as he rubbed the back of his neck where Brittni had dug her nails into his skin in a "hug" goodbye this morning.  
  
Joey swallowed his beer, while reaching over to the phone, handing Craig a piece of paper. "Speaking of women, that Ashley Kerwin called earlier, she wants you to call her as soon as possible."  
  
Craig looked at his message while walking to the staircase "Thanks. I'm kinda tired, plus I have a lot of unpacking to do." With that said, he grabbed his luggage and dragged it up the stairs, trying to walk as quickly as he could.  
  
"Hey Craig".  
  
Craig spun around to look at Joey.  
  
Joey rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly uncomfortable. "If you ever need to, you know, talk, umm, I'm here, you know."  
  
Craig nodded and continued to drag his luggage into his bedroom, crashing it to the ground and flopping onto his bed. He looked at the message from Ashley, debating whether to call her or not.  
  
Craig sighed as he lay down on his pillow, thinking about Ashley. Ashley was defiantly a friend, a comfort, someone he was glad was in his life. After the dance however, he felt that it was maybe something more, and he wasn't sure he wanted that with her. She was too good a friend. Someone he didn't get nervous around or think about all the time. Someone he wasn't in love with.  
  
Crumpling the paper into a ball, he leaned over his bed and threw the paper into the wastebasket. School started tomorrow, he would see her then. Lying back down on his pillow, Craig closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. 


End file.
